A new virtual machine (VM) may be created by cloning an existing VM. The cloning process includes copying the disk image and configurations of the existing VM and then modifying some of the configurations, such as the MAC address and security identifier (SID), to give the clone its own identity thus allowing it to reside on a network along with the original VM. As a result of the changes in virtual hardware configuration, the guest operating system, i.e., the disk operating system that executes within the cloned VM, may recognize the new virtual hardware configuration as a new device, and generate a new handle or software interface for it, which can render it inaccessible to other guest software configured to work with the original, now absent, device. As a result, the new VM may become inoperable without manually configuring the virtual hardware components so that they are consistent with the expectations of the guest software.